Asking Her To Dance
by littlemonalisaliar
Summary: So, upon reading E&P for the first time and meeting Park's friend Cal I thought Cal was a girl. I was really hoping Cal would be a girl too until the story moved on and I started thinking, 'What if Cal was a girl? How would that be' When I read E&P for the second time I started writing this. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**So, upon reading E&P for the first time and meeting Park's friend Cal I thought Cal was a girl. I was really hoping Cal would be a girl too until the story moved on and I started thinking, 'What if Cal _was_ a girl? How would that be?' When I read E&P for the second time I started writing this. Hope you enjoy!**

"I'm going to ask Kim out," Cal said.

"Don't ask Kim out," Park practically pleaded.

"Why not?" They were sitting in the library and Park had yet to choose a poem so Cal had taken the opportunity to change the subject. Besides, Cal had her a poem. It was about a girl named Julia whose clothes were liquid. Cal thought it was brilliant, Park thought it was stupid.

"Because she's Kim," Park said. "You can't ask her out. Look at her."

Kim was sitting a table over with two other preppy girls.

Cal nodded. "Look at her, she's a Betty."

"Jesus," Park grimaced. "You sound so stupid."

"What? That's a thing. A Betty is a thing."

"But you got it from _Thrasher_ or something, right?"

"That's how people learn new words, Park" -she tapped the book of poetry in front of the boy- "reading."

"You're trying too hard."

"Well, I have to don't I?" Cal asked, reaching down to her backpack for the Slim Jim sitting in the pocket.

Park knew Cal hadn't meant to make it sound so melodramatic because they had had this conversation before. Any conversation about Cal they had had before. And Park didn't feel like pointing this out.

Instead Park studied his friend. He didn't think Cal had to try at all. She was good-looking, with smooth, tan skin and dark features. Her hair was deep brown and cut short, she always combed it back and let a few strands fall in front of her eyes. She wore clean button up shirts and vests or suspenders all the time with slacks and either Vans or a pair of Chuck Taylors. Park would never lie and say Cal wasn't good-looking just because she's gay, Cal was definitely good-looking. So Park didn't understand why Cal had to try so hard.

Oh, wait. Homophobia. That's why Cal tried so hard. It was also why Cal had such a hard time putting herself out there. If she ever did go after a girl she was in to it could always come back and bite her in a severe way, which had happened a few times before. But it wasn't like it was a big secret to the students at North, or to the teachers, or anyone really, that Cal was gay. It wasn't like she ran down the halls carrying a rainbow flag every time she switched classes but it was so blatantly clear with the way she acted and checked out every girl that came her way.

"This is my year," Cal said. "I'm getting a girlfriend."

"But probably not Kim."

"Why not Kim? You think I need to aim lower?"

Park looked up at her, noticed the pieces of Slim Jim caught in the girls teeth, "Aim elsewhere."

"Screw that," Cal said, crumpling up the Slim Jim wrapper and reaching for another one. "I'm starting at the top. And I'm getting you a girl, too."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Park said.

"Double-dating," Cal said.

"No."

"In the Impala."

"Don't get your hopes up." Park opened a book of war poetry and immediately closed it.

Cal jutted his chin out to a corner of the library, "Now there's a girl who might want a piece of you. Looks like _somebody's_ got jungle fever."

"That isn't even the right kind of racist." Park said, looking up. Cal was nodding toward the far corner of the library where the new girl was sitting there. Staring right at them.

"She's kind of big," Cal said, "but the Impala is a spacious automobile."

"She's not looking at me. She's just staring, she does that. Watch." Park waved at her, but she didn't blink.

"Do you know her?" Cal asked.

"No," Park said quickly. "She's on my bus. She's weird."

"Jungle fever is a thing," Cal said.

"For black people. If you like black people. And it's not a compliment, I don't think."

"Your people come from the jungle," Cal said, pointing in Park's face. "_Apocalypse Now_, anyone?"

"You should ask Kim out," Park said. "That's a really good idea."

Cal clapped once, a wide smile on her face. "Yeah? It is a good idea, isn't it?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah, so, the last chapter was from the book and modified slightly but this time this chapter is all me! Hope you enjoy!**

**cal**

Cal asked Kim to the Homecoming dance at the end of the month. She hadn't meant to take so long, she had really wanted to ask her the moment Park had agreed with her that it was a good idea, but Cal was nervous. Something she didn't like to admit with how much she talked about her strategy's for getting girls. Of course, she had only ever used those strategies once or twice and the results came out horribly.

Cal wasn't scared of people knowing she was gay, she was only scared of the people she liked knowing that she was gay. She could never pin what their possible reactions could be onto them. That's what made her so nervous about asking Kim to Homecoming.

Now, Kim was as straight as straight could get, and Cal had never heard any stories about Kim wanting to experiment with girls before and there were definitely no stories about past experiments or else that would be all anyone would ever talk about. So, Cal knew that asking Kim to the Homecoming dance would be difficult. Especially when she had to make it clear that Cal was actually asking Kim to go to the dance with _her_.

Cal saw her opportunity when Kim was walking to her lunch table. She was all alone which came to Cal as an advantage. Asking a girl out in front of her friends had never proven to be successful.

So before Cal could stop herself she jogged up to Kim and stopped in front of her, holding her hands up to catch Kim's attention and a friendly grin on her face. "Hey, Kim!" she said.

Kim stumbled to a stop and looked up at the taller girl. "Oh, hi, Cal." she tried to walk past her but Cal moved in front of her again.

"Hey, I was wondering... you're going to the Homecoming dance, right? I mean, of course you are. Why wouldn't you, right?"

Kim looked up at Cal like she couldn't understand what she was saying. "Right..."

"So, you're going?"

"Well... I will, if anyone asks me. No one has so far." Kim could see her friends at their table, staring at her and nudging their heads towards Cal like they were asking, _Why is she even looking at you? _But Kim ignored them and kept her eyes on Cal. After all, Cal _was _friends with Park... "Why?"

"Well..." Cal ran her hand through her hair and gripped the back of her neck, looking down at the floor. She flicked her eyes back up at Kim. Kim's hair was dyed blonde and you could see her black roots coming through but Cal just thought it made her look so much cooler. Undoubtedly, her hair would be perfection tomorrow after tonight's appointment with Park's mom. Whenever Kim's roots started to show too much like this and people would notice, her hair would be dyed to a color of blonde so bright it was almost a color Cal could only describe as golden silver.

Cal shook her head and brought herself somewhat out of Kim's hair. She cleared her throat and let her hand drop. "I was just wondering... if maybe you would... um, like to go to the dance... with, uh, me."

Every time she paused Cal looked at the ground. And she definitely looked at the ground when she said those final two words. Bringing her eyes up right after she stuttered through the last.

Cal couldn't decide what Kim's reaction was to her question. Initially (and sadly) Cal had pictured Kim pointing and laughing at her face while the whole cafeteria joined her. In Cal's mind, Kim could draw that kind of attention to her. Making the whole cafeteria laugh in Cal's face. In Cal's mind, even in her fantasies about Kim, she was still making fun of Cal.

"Well, who all is going?"

Cal hadn't seen the question coming. She felt her hands hanging loose by her sides and wanted to do something with them but she couldn't think of anything. "What?"

"It's like a group thing, right?" Kim asked. Cal's heart squeezed painfully, she tried not to let it show on her face. "Who all is going?" Kim asked again.

"Oh, well," Cal cleared her throat again, she tried to think of how to clarify her question but she didn't know what to say.

"What about Park?"

Cal blinked.

Park? "Park?"

"Yeah, Park. Is he gonna go?"  
Cal studied Kim. She's into Park, she realized. Damn it, Park.

"I'll ask if he's going,"

"Great," Kim's eyes seemed to light up and Cal's dimmed. "Get back to me when you do, okay?" She had placed her hand on Cal's forearm and cold tingles ran all the way up into Cal's shoulder.

"Yeah, o-okay," her voice squeaked and Kim sauntered away to her table.

Before could could even think (she seemed to be doing a lot of that today, not thinking) she called out to Kim one more time. "Hey, Kim!"

Kim turned around just as she was setting her bag and books down at her table, the grin on her face died down a bit. "Yeah?"

"You should let your hair go natural," Cal shrugged. "I think it would look cool."

And before Cal could see Kim's reaction or receive an answer she turned and jogged out of the cafeteria, feeling her arm grow warm.


End file.
